45: Uranai Baba.
As the day of the tournament drew nearer, the island where it was to be held began to welcome the arrival of many tourists who came to see the fights, but also to enjoy the resort that had been built on the site.
As an event that took place every three years, it was a very popular activity that attracted people and creatures from all over the world, so it was not unusual to see not only humans or animals, but also intelligent animals capable of speaking, or even some supernatural creatures.
Vampires, werewolves, mummies, and even some people with wings on their backs, although they may have been just people with animal features, because there were a lot of those people on Earth.
So, no one noticed a small group of humans strolling through the busy streets of the island, enjoying the scenery, the vibrancy, and so many things trying to attract their attention.
"Look, Bulma! Ice cream made with blood!" Chi-Chi pointed to a rather strange ice cream stand shrouded in shadows that only revealed the red eyes of the vendor.
But there was a sign in front that said it was for sale: ice cream flavored with blood and some extra fruits or flavors, specially prepared for vampires. However, anyone could eat it because the blood used was artificial.
The interesting thing is that it seemed to be quite popular, and many people were lining up to get popsicles, cones, and tubs of ice cream with a crimson hue, but if you looked closely, you could even see the chocolate chips.
There was even a strange guy in a red and black suit with two swords on his back. Despite what seemed to be his body odor, many people were separated from him, except for another person dressed in yellow and black armor, whose only eyepiece glowed the same color as his coat, red.
"Hey, cousin, don't you want one of these ice creams? Some people are curious to try it. Aren't you?" The red and black clad man looked into the empty air, chatting to something or someone no one else could see.
"I'm not a damn vampire," the armored man replied, his voice distorted by some kind of voice changer.
Bulma didn't understand the strange interaction between these two men, but when she tried to use her empathic ability, she had to cancel it soon after. During the time she kept it activated, she understood that sometimes she should not use it.
On the part of the man in the yellow and black armour, she felt the emotions of two entities placed in his body, except for his own. She could feel the emotions of reluctance and boredom from the red cloak he was wearing.
She could also feel the emotions of happiness, pride, ferocity, and hunger from the armor. Still, the man wearing those two objects looked like an emotional black hole, emitting nothing, as if he were dead.
On the other hand, the man in the red and black suit had such chaotic emotions that they covered everything around him, as if he could not contain his emotional fluctuations.
Not only that, but there were so many emotions, so many changes, that it quickly became a strange psychedelic show to her senses, and as if noticing her intrusion, these emotions 'attacked' her, forcing her to deactivate her ability.
"Hey, that girl just saw something she shouldn't have," the strange man in the red and black suit turned his head and looked directly at Bulma, causing his 'cousin' to look at the blue-haired girl as well.
"Hmm, we'd better go then. I don't want to disturb anyone else's universe." The armored man nodded to Bulma before tapping his partner on the shoulder. Soon, they both disappeared.
"What the hell?" Bulma wondered quietly, but her mother patted her gently on the head.
"Daughter, we shouldn't judge people by their tastes," Bikini said, looking at her daughter reproachfully.
Although the woman always had her eyes closed, her senses were quite sharp, and she even seemed to be able to see without using her eyes, which seemed to be more of a personal ability of the woman.
"No, that's not what I meant," Bulma tried to speak, but she was silent, unable to find a way to explain what had happened.
She had just seen Deadpool and Deathstroke in this universe, so an old memory was triggered in her mind. She had read a 6,000-chapter fanfic that told the story of a Deathstroke who could travel throughout the Omniverse.
So if he was indeed that man, she was reassured. Yes, this guy was a very different traveler from the others. He knew this was her 'universe', and he left. Then Bulma decided to keep quiet. Why bother with something unimportant?
She already had a big cake in this universe and was not looking to travel to other universes, so she had no worries. Having come to this realization, Bulma relaxed completely.
"So, what can we do on this island?" asked Bulma, trying to change the subject to something else that the others could participate in.
"Well, it says here that there are various entertainment facilities, various types of restaurants, and even saunas and hot springs!" replied Doctor Brief, reading the information from his tablet.
"I want to go to the hot springs!" Bikini approached her husband, opened her eyes, and looked at him tenderly, causing him to nod resignedly.
"Fine," Doctor Brief replied before listening to the others' responses.
"Entertainment? Will there be karaoke? It would be fun to sing," Oolong said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Good choice, young Oolong. Karaoke is fun, hehehe," Roshi laughed, making Oolong feel understood for the first time in this world.
"I want to go to the amusement park," Krillin said, because, after all, he was just a teenager of the same age as Goku.
"I want to buy some new clothes," Yamcha mentioned his wish. he had enough money, but he had not taken out space to replace all his clothes that had been eroded by the sun and the desert sand.
This situation made him feel a little uncomfortable wearing those old clothes in front of people who always seemed to be wearing new clothes without repeating them. So, Yamcha wanted to have a good time choosing and buying new clothes for himself.
"I want to eat!" said Goku, and Chi-Chi nodded at his words.
"They say that Lynn Minmay will give a concert." Gohan looked at a screen in the distance, which showed the news of the concert.
"Are you interested in singers?" Bulma looked at Gohan reproachfully, but he just nodded, showing no change in his emotions.
"Sure, I met her through one of my... friends. She just can't come with us." Gohan's facade broke a little when she mentioned her supposed friend, and he blushed.
"Of course..." Bulma just shook her head before she thought about what to do.
"But first of all, we should register for the tournament," Bulma said, without knowing what to do, pointing to the next step, her registration for the tournament.
"True, it's not good to leave these things to the last minute, but you know, as a VIP, I could just let you in, you know?" said Doctor Brief, but his words made Bulma shake her head.
"While that would be 'normal, ' I'd like to go through the usual process. Our goal is to fight each other and learn; that would take some of the meaning out of it," Bulma replied, making her father smile.
"Good, then let's speed things up," Doctor Brief finished, walking arm in arm with Bikini, who seemed to be in awe of everything around her.
Not to be outdone, they even saw a large Tyrannosaurus Rex walk by with a blue hat on its head and, noticing Bikini's gaze, bowed before continuing on its way.
They even saw a fortune-telling stall where an old woman with purple hair was reading a woman's fortune. Roshi noticed that this was his sister, but the two always kept their distance, so he gave her a nod before pointing to Chi-Chi.
"Big sister, I have an apprentice for you!" shouted Roshi, attracting the attention of his sister, Uranai Baba, who scowled at him.
"You fool! Not just any brat can be my pupil!" the old woman replied grumpily before looking at Chi-Chi, who had a quizzical expression on her face.
"Wait..." Uranai Baba approached them, sitting on the crystal ball and using it to levitate and transport her body.
"Child, how many years have you been studying magic?" asked Uranai Baba, watching Chi-Chi's face constantly, though the young girl felt that the vision of the witch before her was seeing something 'different', something she didn't yet understand.
"I have only been learning for a few months." Chi-Chi's words astonished Uranai Baba, who looked incredulously at her younger brother, who nodded proudly.
"She's also quite a skilled fighter, you know; she's very talented," Roshi said to his younger sister, unable to hide the pride on his face.
"Your soul is perfect for learning magic," Uranai Baba said creepily, so Chi-Chi hid behind Goku, who looked at the old witch seriously.
"Get a hold of yourself," Roshi glared at his sister, making her blush with embarrassment.
"I'm not an evil monster! But you know that magic depends a lot on the quality of the soul, and this girl's is pretty much in line with magic," Uranai Baba pointed out before staring at Goku and noticing something in him that made her recoil in fear.
"Phew... what a 'wild' young man," the witch muttered before examining all the young men present.
She looked at Goku's soul and noticed a creature full of ferocity that seemed to notice her intrusive gaze and growled at her. Uranai Baba then looked at Yamcha's soul and noticed some peculiarities in it.
The same thing happens with Krillin's soul, but when she sees Bulma's soul, she almost falls out of her crystal ball, so she quickly deactivates her soul vision. All because she saw a strange being staring at her in silence, as if the being was offended by her gaze.
"Have you been looking into people's souls again?" asked Roshi with some reproach in his voice, causing Uranai Baba to lower her head in embarrassment.
"You know, every person who dabbles in magic has curiosity and their particular peculiarities." Uranai Baba said those words to justify herself, but if you noticed, her crystal ball was floating as far away from Bulma as she could.
"That's no excuse," Roshi said, but his sister just stuck her tongue out at him before handing Chi-Chi a piece of paper.
"If you can't learn on your own, come see me," the old woman said before floating off to her divination station.
The thing about manias was true; one of Uranai Baba's was her desire to observe the souls of others, but another was to make money, lots of money. And what better way to do that than to divine those rich people!
So, Uranai Baba didn't want to waste any more time with her younger brother and didn't even say goodbye because, as a soothsayer, she could sense that she would have a lot of communication with Roshi in the future, so there was no need to be in such a hurry.
Making more money was what mattered to her now!
"So... can we go register now?" asked Yamcha quietly, not sure why, but it seemed that the registration for the tournament was taking longer than it should have.
"Yes, we won't stop for anything this time," Bulma said, but soon, she would know that she wouldn't be able to fulfil that purpose, at least for today.
On their way, they met Tights, accompanied by Jaco, who was quite frightened when he saw Goku, as he always was when he met the young Saiyan, all because he was afraid of him.
"This is going to take a while." Bulma patted her face, somewhat desperate at the situation.